Ohio State junior guard Duane Washington Jr (4) moves his way down the court during the OSU v U Mass. Lowell game on Nov. 29. Ohio State won 74-64. Credit: Christian Harsa | Assistant Photo Editor.
The Buckeyes are 2-0 on the season, but their spotless record does not reflect the team’s play thus far.
After a narrow victory over UMass-Lowell (1-2), the Buckeyes will return to the Covelli Center for a second time to take on Morehead State (1-2). Head coach Chris Holtmann said Sunday that UMass-Lowell’s zone gave his team problems, and he said Tuesday that the game revealed some issues that need to be corrected.
“I think every opportunity, you get a chance to really learn and improve and get exposed in some areas, and we got exposed the other night, and I know Morehead is going to come in off a win and look to really challenge in a lot of ways,” Holtmann said Tuesday.
Nearly half of the players that saw the floor against the River Hawks did not see the floor for the Buckeyes in 2019-20, and redshirt senior guard CJ Walker said the lack of exhibition games has forced the team to increase its cohesion at a rapid rate.
“You gotta grow up really fast as a team, that chemistry has to come really fast,” Walker said Sunday. “Obviously now, you’ve got to learn as you go, each and every practice, each and every game you’ve got to get better and learn.”
The Buckeyes struggled to knock down shots until the late stages of the game against UMass-Lowell and finished shooting 40 percent from the field.
Ohio State is now shooting 44.5 percent through two games, but a Morehead State team will come to Columbus with a defense that allows teams to shoot 51.8 percent from the floor.
Despite the high percentage, Holtmann said the Eagles present a tough challenge for the Buckeyes.
“They’re the most physical team we’ve played — I would say for sure with their size and just how physical and hard they play,” Holtmann said.
The Buckeyes have scored 84.5 percent of their points from either the paint or free throw line.
Although the team has succeeded in playing on the inside and getting to the charity stripe, Ohio State is entering the game hitting on only 10 of its 36 shots from deep, and Morehead State is allowing opponents to shoot 32.7 percent on 3-pointers.
Redshirt senior guard CJ Walker is among the players that have struggled to dial in their shots early in the season.
Shooting a career-high 42.7 percent from the field a year ago, Walker has started the season hitting on only 33.3 percent of his shots.
But Holtmann said Walker’s value to the team extends beyond his statistics — which he said he is not concerned about.
“He’s hungry to grow and improve from one game to the next,” Holtmann said. “I think his ability to lead our team at the point of attack on both ends is critical and tomorrow will be an opportunity to show that and do a better job of that.”
One of the guards Walker will be tasked with going against Wednesday is redshirt junior guard Devon Cooper, who enters the game averaging 10.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Along with Cooper, the Eagles also present a 6-foot-10 freshman forward Johni Broome; he leads the team averaging 14 points and 7.7 rebounds per game to go along with 1.7 blocks per contest.
“Morehead plays really hard,” Holtmann said. “They have a talented big guy, freshman, 6-10 kid. They’ve got really talented guards. I think they play together really well.”
The Buckeyes will begin a schedule starting Dec. 8 in which they play Notre Dame, North Carolina and their Big Ten slate.
Although Ohio State’s schedule will ramp up in the coming weeks, Holtmann said he is not taking the opponents Ohio State has before then lightly.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for who we’re playing,” Holtmann said. “I think we’ve seen how we were challenged the other day, and I fully expect us to be really challenged here tomorrow night against Morehead with their athleticism.”
Ohio State will tip off against Morehead State at 5 p.m Wednesday at the Covelli Center.
